Flip phones are back — in the form of foldable phones at least — and consumers have plenty of options if they’re looking to enter the fold. But a new foldable phone from Samsung could be one of the most enticing options yet.
While Samsung’s current foldable phones, the Galaxy Z and the Fold carry price tags of about $1,000 and $1,800 respectively, a recent leak showed a reported mid-range Samsung foldable phone set to debut next year that would cost a shockingly affordable $400 to $500.
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For reference, the Motorola Razr, the most affordable foldable phone this year, had a starting price of $699 and was recently on sale for $499. Black Friday sale aside, the new Samsung phone would significantly undercut the prices of every other foldable.
It’s not clear whether this will be a book-style or a clamshell, but based on their current prices, it’s likely this will be more similar to the lower-priced Galaxy Z. What kind of concessions would Samsung have to make for that lower price?
If the Motorola Razr was any indication, the reduced-price Samsung would probably have a smaller display, likely a less-powerful camera, and would probably make cuts to processing power. But the Razr still handles daily tasks very well, so the phone has plenty of use for most people.
Of course, the biggest question now is, will this be the foldable that leads to mainstream adoption? Folding phones are certainly the hot thing right now, but they haven’t found a foothold among other flagships, at least in the US (foldables accounted for 40% of premium phone sales in South Korea last year, and that’s only expected to grow this year).
In our hands-on review of the Galaxy Z Fold 5, though, it was pointed out that Samsung President TM Roh said that 50% of smartphone users were considering an upgrade to a foldable device. And if that is indeed the case, the lower price of this phone could finally be a tipping point for many buyers.
